The stride gum "spit it out adventure" ad campaign is quite interesting to me. Stride is selling and marketing gum, and these ads depict stride sending out a team of people to hunt down those who have been chewing the same piece for too long, and make them spit it out. Of course they use humorous and unconventional ways of forcing these people to spit out their gum to make the ads funny, but the underlying message is what really gets me thinking. Stride's main goal is to sell gum. These advertisements show that Stride gum is simply TOO high quality, and once you start chewing it, there's no reason to stop because it NEVER loses it's flavor. For this reason, the same company that created the gum must go out and right the world by forcing people to spit out their old gum. I think that's enough to atleast spark a little curiosity in consumers about the actual life of a piece of Stride gum and motivate consumers to purchase it. Good job stride!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Advertising and Promotion
The stride gum "spit it out adventure" ad campaign is quite interesting to me. Stride is selling and marketing gum, and these ads depict stride sending out a team of people to hunt down those who have been chewing the same piece for too long, and make them spit it out. Of course they use humorous and unconventional ways of forcing these people to spit out their gum to make the ads funny, but the underlying message is what really gets me thinking. Stride's main goal is to sell gum. These advertisements show that Stride gum is simply TOO high quality, and once you start chewing it, there's no reason to stop because it NEVER loses it's flavor. For this reason, the same company that created the gum must go out and right the world by forcing people to spit out their old gum. I think that's enough to atleast spark a little curiosity in consumers about the actual life of a piece of Stride gum and motivate consumers to purchase it. Good job stride!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Brand Image
Packaging and Advertisement
Oh, Herbal Essences commercials... These were quite a shocker when they first started running their interesting shower ads. I felt almost embarrassed to be in the same room as my parents when these came on TV, yet somehow I was drawn to the product. I began using herbal essences shortly after. If that girl could have such a good time in the shower, why couldn't I?
In addition to their racy ads, herbal essences products come packaged in colorful, tantilizing bottles. When I saw the new hydralicious line in Walmart one day, I stopped dead in my tracks and said, "What is this? I HAVE to have it!" It wasn't just the shampoo and conditioner, but yet the whole display that the products were placed on. The general idea was the same as the image above, they make it seem like there's almost something magical about the products.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Advertising and Promotion
I'm going to revisit advertising, just because it's such a vast topic with so many areas to explore. Some recent ads that I thought were very interesting are the new Microsoft PC and Apple iMac ads. Recently, Microsoft has been experiencing some pretty fierce competition from apple. As apple gains awareness and trust from consumers, the perceived risk of switching is beginning to decrease. When apple first introduced its operating system, there was a very high perceived risk from PC users because they had never used anything else. Seeing this competition rising, Microsoft launched an ad campaign reassuring PC users that their fears are correct, and staying PC is the way to go. They tell customers that Mac's are hard to use, there are technological walls to the rest of society. Mac's have ads telling consumers the opposite, and portraying their computers and sleek, sexy, and technologically advanced.
Advertising and Promotion
The image above is a Calvin Klein advertisement from 1980. Calvin was the first designer to stamp his name on the back of jeans. Many designers thought denim to be beneath them and did not ever consider it to be a profitable market. Calvin decided to take this challenge on, and he created a whole new kind of ad campaign to go along with his new denim. Calvin Klein used very young up and coming models, rather than high profile, older models. He wanted to catch the eye of young people. His ads were considered vulgar and risque by many, but they got him the attention he wanted and his career soared. Since the origination of his innovative idea, many companies picked up on it, and using young models is still an advertising practice used today.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Pricing

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Services

The amazing amount of services present in the United States and around the world is fascinating to me. Someone, somewhere, can provide a service for just about any need imaginable. We rely on other people to do so many things for us on a day to day basis. Many services have evolved into enormous productions that provide much more than just the simple service.
One prime example of this are hair salons. The salon rarely ever just cuts your hair anymore. Gene Juarez, for example, has a full salon and spa. While at the facility (servicescape) one can get a haircut, facial, pedicure, massage, and much more. They offer a skin care line and personal consultations with their professionals. And by no means are these services just an added "bonus," you will definitely pay to be pampered, but people like to feel like their special and this elevated service is highly sought after.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Downward Line Stretch
In the fashion world, downward and upward line stretch are commonly used by designers to expand their market and increase revenue. Downward line stretch is seen by a very high percentage of high end, haute couture designers. Many middle to upper-middle class consumers love their products but simply cannot afford the price. A downward line stretch allows these products to be attainable by a wider range of people. In addition, this helps spread the designers name and generate interest. Aside from just creating lower end garments, designers also expand themselves into the accessories market which allows a wider range of people to purchase something with their name on it as well.
The images above are a depict a prime example of a downward line stretch that was just launched. The first picture shows Alexander McQueen garments on the runway, which run up to $5,000 for one piece, and the lower picture shows the Alexander McQueen collection for target, starting at $19.99.Thursday, March 5, 2009
Augmented Service
In today's society credit cards are inseperable from money spending. People like to buy things they can't actually afford, and credit allows this to become a possibility. This is an augmented service that many retailers offer to help lure people in to spending more money than they probably should. For example, electronic and jewelry stores often have credit cards because their products are so pricey. A customer rarely has $1,500 to fork over for a new flat screen, or $5,000 for an engagement ring. Offering credit allows these stores to acquire many customers that they would not be able to otherwise, and allows these customers to buy more and spend more, while the retailer is racking up even more money than they would have originally through high interest rates.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Chanel Brand Personality
Brand personality and image is something that is important for many companies and consumers alike. In order to reach their desired target market, many brands need a highly specific image that the consumer can relate to, has something in common with, or aspires to be.
I chose to discuss Chanel because since the fashion house's creation, it has carried a very distinct and identifiable image. The brand was created by Coco Chanel, and carries her name. She began designing at a time when women were slaves to fashion, and what the male designers wanted them to wear. She proposed a change, classically elegant fashion that was surprisingly comfortable to wear. Long after Chanel's death, the brand still boasts an image modeled after it's creator: simple, and chic. Many young women desire Chanel because of its innovative and remarkable creator, and it's brand personality and image.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Business to Business purchasing guidelines

These types of requirements help set Nordstrom apart in product and supplier selection, and it diversifies their customer base as well. As social responsibility comes to the forefront of more and more people's minds, companies that have these kinds of policies will receive the business and revenue from those that care.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Consumer Behavior
When thinking about consumer behavior, for me, perceived risk of the purchase or decision is a huge factor. Small changes in this, can drastically change my likehood to purchase. High perceived risk makes a purchase more high involvement, and can turn it into enduring involvement.
Consumer choice on insurance is enduring involvement, and although I have never personally made this decision, I imagine there is high perceived risk involved. Many insurance companies, such as geico and progressive, run a high amount of advertisements telling customers how easy the whole process is, and how much money they can save you. Representatives are portrayed as friendly and informed, and some insurance companies even go as far as assisting you in comparative shopping. All of this, in my opinion, is to help consumers let their guard down and lower their perceived risk in purchasing insurance in general, and especially with their company.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Market Research

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=frol02p70&continuous=1
This is a link to a very interesting Frontline video. They did a series on "Hunting for Cool" that's about research on the teen market. Getting young adults to respond to advertisements in a positive way is much harder than any other market. For this reason, market researchers must dig deeper, and use different tactics. One way to get direct responses from teens is to hold focus groups and pay the participants. Even then, however, the nature of a teen is to be unresponsive and vague. "Cool Hunting" is something that is becoming popular. Market researchers go out in to the streets and photograph and interview teens that are outside and ahead of the curve. They then compile this information and sell it to large business who then use it as the basis for their advertisements. Spending more money on figuring out what teens want pays off in the end for companies, which is why they continue to do it.
This is a link to a very interesting Frontline video. They did a series on "Hunting for Cool" that's about research on the teen market. Getting young adults to respond to advertisements in a positive way is much harder than any other market. For this reason, market researchers must dig deeper, and use different tactics. One way to get direct responses from teens is to hold focus groups and pay the participants. Even then, however, the nature of a teen is to be unresponsive and vague. "Cool Hunting" is something that is becoming popular. Market researchers go out in to the streets and photograph and interview teens that are outside and ahead of the curve. They then compile this information and sell it to large business who then use it as the basis for their advertisements. Spending more money on figuring out what teens want pays off in the end for companies, which is why they continue to do it.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Rising Star
The Apple iPhone is definitely a rising star in the mobile phone market. There are so many different brands and providers which creates an intense amount of competition. There have been popular phones in the past, but the iPhone seems to be the "it" phone. I have never seen so many people with one phone. It seems the cellular community is obsessed with the phone and anyone who can get their hands on one will do so. This phone is capturing an extremely high market share, even with many competing phones coming on the market like the Blackberry Storm, Samsung Instinct, and LG Dare. It simply comes down to the fact that no one can top, or even match, apple's technology.
Friday, January 16, 2009
New Era Orientation

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